Deasia Merrill
Jett Parker
60
Winner Troy TROY 16-7,7-2 Sun Belt
56
Georgia St. GSU 8-10,2-4 Sun Belt
Winner
Troy TROY
16-7,7-2 Sun Belt
60
Final
56
Georgia St. GSU
8-10,2-4 Sun Belt
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Troy TROY 14 17 16 13 60
Georgia St. GSU 13 12 22 9 56

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Panthers Come Up Just Short in 60-56 Loss to Troy

ATLANTA -- Georgia State and Troy were tied with less than minutes three minutes to play, but the Trojans scored the next six points and held on for a 60-56 win Saturday at the GSU Sports Arena, snapping the Panthers' two-game winning streak.

Today's game was Georgia State's (8-10, 2-4 Sun Belt) third straight to go down to the wire after the Panthers defeated Georgia Southern on a last-second shot and then knocked off South Alabama in overtime.

Deasia Merrill led the Panthers with 11 points, and her bucket with 2:43 left tied the scored at 53-all. After Troy (16-7, 7-2) regained the lead on a pair of free throws, Merrill was called for an offensive foul away from the ball, and the Trojans' Amber Leggett hit a short baseline jumper to put the Trojans up 57-53 with a minute to go.

With Georgia State forced to foul, Troy extended its lead to 59-53 with a pair of free throws, but Ashley Foster hit a 3-pointer for GSU to make it a one-possession game with 26 seconds left. Troy hit one more free throw to seal win. 

Troy, the second-placed team in the Sun Belt, averages better than 80 points a game, but Georgia State held the Trojans to just 31 percent from the field.

After falling behind early in the game, Georgia State pulled within 27-25 late in the second quarter before Troy took a 31-25 lead into the locker room.

The Trojans extended their lead to 38-29 two minutes into the third quarter when Georgia State went on an 11-0 run to take a 40-38 lead. Two field goals each by Merrill and Alex Gitchenko made it 38-37, and then Merrill nailed a 3-pointer to put the Panthers ahead with five minutes left in the third.

The teams ended the third period knotted at 47-all, and the game was tied at 51-51 after Merrill's second-chance bucket with 4:18 to play.

Merrill was the only Panther in double figures, but 10 different players scored for Georgia State, including Gitchenko with eight points, along with six rebounds and four assists. Tehya Lyons, Alyssa Phillip, Hannah Sadler and Taniyah Worth scored six points each.

Georgia State will play its first road game in nearly a month next Saturday when the Panthers travel to Georgia Southern for a 1 p.m. game in Statesboro, Ga.
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